Customer Reviews

The Garden at Highgrove

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I first read about Highgrove in a magazine article ( I think it was Town & Country) several years ago. I clipped the article and looked at the beautiful pictures again and again. When I saw the book, I knew I had to have it. When it arrived last week, I was not disappointed. The pictures of the gardens are beautiful, but the story of the garden's development is even more interesting. The prose is informative and easy to read. I also have a new respect for Prince Charles as a kindred gardener. While my gardens will never match the grand scale of Highgrove (my husband and I do all of the garden work on our five acres while working full time jobs), I have found lots of inspirational ideas that I plan to incorporate in my flower gardens. This book has already given me many hours of enjoyment and I know that I will turn to it whenever I need a gardening fix!

I first read this book because my boss, the owner of a really great nursery I work for, had it on her bookshelf in the office. I first "read" the pictures, then read the rest in a patchwork fashion to suit my mood. I have just recently visited England and really love all the traditional gardens they have there, and their obvious love for all things growing. I plan to own this book in the very near future because it is informative and very beautiful. I have a whole new perspective about the Prince of Wales and gardening in England. Great read!

I got this book earlier this year from Amazon U.K., wasn't out here yet, and really liked it. For your money you get a fairly recent photo tour of the grounds at Highrove, Prince Charles country home. There are a lot of pictures of plant life, details of some of the buildings and even some examples of outdoor sculpture. You even learn of a treehouse built for young Princes William & Harry as well as a garden seat given as a wedding present to the Prince and Princess of Wales (nice to know that the Princess hasn't been completely cleared away), two of many details that I haven't seen on television or read in some book or magazine article. I consider the book to be worth owning (just don't expect much gardening information), I just wish there could be a book tour of the interior of the house and other buildings to go with it.

If The Prince's 1993 book "Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming" was a manifesto disguised as a picture book, this title is, comfortingly, just what it appears to be: a guided tour of The Prince of Wales' very impressive gardens at his country seat, Highgrove.

Of course, there is still a strong bit of advocacy for an organic approach to gardening. But here, it doesn't edge into discussions of European agricultural policy or the historic despoiling of the British countryside. Instead, explanations of the organic method are an underlying, but essential, part of telling the garden's story

The narrative of how the garden has developed over two decades is an interesting one, and any gardener will enjoy and be inspired by the beautiful photography. And although few of us are able to garden on the Prince's scale, there is still an awful lot in here we can learn from, adapt to our own uses, or blatantly poach -- from simple decorating and arranging ideas to complex schemes of crop rotation or building construction. Helpfully, Highgrove's head gardener, David Howard, includes a chapter explaining how the transition from traditional gardening to organic approaches began, and some of the key techniques he employs and lessons he's learned. This is followed by six entire pages of listings of various types of plants cultivated in the different gardens and illustrated in each chapter. This, especially, may prove to be a handy resource for many readers.

If there's one noticeable drawback to this book, it's that there's no overall map or diagram showing where the various gardens are in relation to one another and the house. All I can think is that (assuming there is a reason for not including one) this may be for security purposes -- though that seems unlikely given the number of photographs already included. But after taking an otherwise thorough tour through the kitchen garden, the walled garden, the box garden, the fountain garden, across the terrace, past the sanctuary, under the rose arch, down the thyme walk (my favorite), along the serpentine hedge ... and all the rest, it would have been nice to have a comprehensive view of how it all fits together.

After having read the earlier title about this garden, it was nice to return six or seven years later (in publishing time) and see how it's all progressing. As the quote on the back cover says, "The Prince of Wales has created at Highgrove one of the most admired gardens in the country," and from philosophy to planning to execution, it's a garden that through this book, we can learn things from or, if we prefer, simply sit back and enjoy.

To see a garden of this scale and design run completely organically is one the best arguments for the banishment of chemical garden practices around.
This book is a great addition to any garden library, and if you do not already garden organically this may be the book that will convert you. That is assuming you have not read A Silent Spring.
Also makes a handsome gift, dispite all the photos of Prince Charles looking very County.

This is a fabulous book and a treasure for garden lovers. It's nice for even amateur gardeners to have a selection of books on Sissinghurst, Giverny, and now Highgrove. I especially loved this book because of the unusual features including the stumpery, which is, quite simply, fantastic. The pictures are beautiful, and I even enjoy the winter scenes.(snow+England=Dickens for me!). The beautiful statues and sculptures are unique--and range from classical to modern;they all seem well-placed in this garden. I liked the way the Prince of Wales encouraged young stonemasons to give their castoffs to add to a wall that looks to be straight out of Alice in Wonderland.
It's true that not of all of us can live like a Prince, but it apparent that his Duchy employs a number of people--and it seems he has been more than generous in opening his garden to visitors and fundraisers. If I knew how beautiful and inspiring this book was--or even that there was such a book--I would have bought it earlier (big regret). I anticipate many years of delightful viewing.